Burial vault



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A. E. TRIPLETTv 4BURIAL VAULT Filed Juney 29. 1923 m mmmm ,za l' /a Patented July 22, 1924.

STATES BURIAL VAULT.

Application led June 29, 1923. Serial No. 648,467.

To all whom t may concern.'

` Be it known that I, ARMSTEAD E. TRIP- LETT, citizen of the United States of America, residing at Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State o-f Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Burial Vaults,\of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvement-s in burial vaults.

Considerable time and study has been given to burial vaults, particularly'in those localities where underground interment is not possible on account of surfacewater and seepage, and various kinds of vaults have been developed, however at the present time surface burial is still the method employed in the localities referred to.

The object of the invention is to provide a vault which will be impervious to moisture and which will maintain a casket in adry and herinetically sea-led condition for an inidefinite period, whereby the vault may be buried under ground or used above the ground.

A further object is to provide a vault in the form of aunit which will be complete in itself and of such shape that it may be used as a building block.

A particular object of the invention'is to provide a vault comprising an outer shell or container within which is disposed an inner container spaced therefrom on all sides with a core of material therebetweenwhich is impervious to moisture and which provides for expansion and contraction, whereby the containers lare protected against cracking and disintegration.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described together with other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following speciflcation and by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Fig. 1, is a perspective view of a vault constructed in accordance with my invention,

Fig. 2, is a horizontal cross-section of the same buried in the ground, i

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view, and

Fig. 4 is a detail of one of the fastenings.

In the drawings the numeral 10 designates an outer shell or container having a.

flat cover slab 11, fitting flush with the upper side. rIhe outer' container is rectangular in shape having its outer sides, ends, top and bottom at,whereby it may be used with other such vaults to form a wall or a. tier.

Vithin the outer container is an inner container o-r shell 12 having a fiat coverslab 13 fitting thereon. `rIhe dimensions of the in ner container are such that it may be disposed concentrically in the container 10 and a surrounding space provided therebetween. 'Ihe containers and their covers may be formed of concrete and reinforced with steel (not shown) or they may be made of any 'other suitable material.

Concrete is not moisture proof and kto prevent the passage of Vmoisture from the outer to the inner container a core composed of an outer envelop 14- an inner envelop 15 and a filler 16 disposedV between the envelop occupies the space between containers. The elements 14, 15 and 16 are arranged in concentric relation. The envelop 14 is contig uous to the inner faces of the outer' container and its cover, while the envelop 15 is contiguous to the outer faces of the innen container and its cover. y

The object of the envelop is to provide for expansion and contraction of the containers and therefore should be formed of suitable material' for this purpose and also they should be capable of withstanding the effects of moisture. They are preferably of a cohesive nature so as to adhere to the containers and the filler and sheet asbestos or fiber-mat having the sides contiguous to t-he surface of the container waterproofed with asphalt, has been found satisfactory for the purpose. 'The filler has the primary function of preventing the passage of water, and moistureor any liquid. This filler is preferably made ofacomposition of hydrocarbon by-products, andy bituminous products, such as a. Vmixture of tar, pitch and asphalt, which may-be poured between the envelope in a liquid state, and allowed to harden and adhere to the said envelop, whereby an integral core wall is formed.

In order to preserve the space between the containers blocks 17 are interposed between the envelopes and those under the container 12 support the same; while those under the cover 11 support the latter. These blocks are formed of the same material as' the `filler and are preferably reinforced with fiber so inner container 12 and the cover slab 13 put on. The cover may be fastened in any suitable manner. In order to facilitate the assembly the envelopes may be made in the form of plates and the top plates and filler therebetween may be applied after the slab 13 is fastened. The vault is sealed by applying the cover slab 11. One method lof fastening is applied to the cover 13 and is illustrated in Figs., 3 and t. The upper edges of the container 12 lare formed with cruciform sockets 18, and the cover slab 13 has cruciform sockets 19 extending entirely therethrough and registering` with the sockets 18. After the cover has been placed, inolten metal is poured into the sockets 19 and flows into the sockets 18, which when set forms locking dowels. This fastening may be applied to both containers by using the same kind of slab cover. Another form of fastening includes casting serrations 20 in the corners of the upper end 0f the container, as in the container 10. The corners of the cover slab, 11 are cut off and provided with serrations 21. Seals 22 are formed by pouring molten metal or other congealing mediums into the spaces provided at the corners and sealing the same in the serrations.

It will be seen that when the vault is sealed it presents the' appearance of a smooth block. These blocks may be arranged in tiers without additional supports or built into mausoleum walls.

Where the vault is buried in the ground it is surrounded by a suitable preserving material such as a mixture composed of ninety-two parts of potters cla-y, four parts of slacked lime, two parts of powdered alum `and two parts of common soap rick in ani" and the invention is not to be limited thereto. For instance, the containers 10 and 12 may be made of any material which is found practical for the purpose. The core wall is subject to considerable variation, but a composite element comprising inner and outer envelopes or coatings of elastic material capable of withstanding expansion and contraction are preferable. A filler of moisture resisting material, which will make the core impervious to moisture, must be used. The preserving mixture may be comf posed of any materials which will undergo disintegration when subjected to moisture and solidify. The fusible blocks are important, because if glass or other hard blocks were used to support the inner container, moisture would travel by capillary attraction or absorption.

What I claim is:

1. A burial vault composed of an outer container, an inner concentric container, a core wall between the containers poured in a liquid state, and space blocks between the containers composed of material fusing with the core material when the latter congeals, the core wall and block being formed into an integraland continuous core impervious to moisture. V

2. A burial-vault composed of an outer container, an inner concentric container spaced therefrom, and a moisture-proof core interposed in the Yspace between containers and comprising an inner .and an outer envelope of elastic material capable of withstanding expansion and contraction of the containers and a filler between the envelopes composed of material impervious to moisture.

3. A burial vault composed of an outer container, 'an inner concentric container spaced therefrom, a -moisture-proof core interposed in the space between containers and comprising an inner and an outer envolope of elastic material capable of withstanding eXpansion and contraction of the containers and a filler between the envelopes composed of material impervious to moisture, blocks in the space between the envelopes composed of material fusible with the filler. i

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ARMSTEAD E. TRIPLETT. 

